Hand seamer for cans



Dec. 18, 1934. M, M. SEDWICK HAND SEAMER FOR CANS Filed Sept. 26, 1933 2Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 18, 1934. Ml My 5EDW|CK 1,984,601

HAND SEAMER FOR CANS Patented Dec. 1.8, 1.934

PATENT OFFICE HAND SEAMER FOR CANS Matthew M. Sedwick, Syracuse, N. Y.,assigner to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application September 26, 1933, Serial No.691,053

4 Claims.

The invention relatesto new anduseful improvements in handseamers forcans wherein the cans may be chucked and manually rotated, and theseaming rolls manually movedat Will into contact with the metal partsfor double seeming the end to the can body. y

An object of the invention is to provide a hand seamer wherein theseaming rolls may be shifted at will into contact with the metal partsthrough a manually operated cam actuated means'.

In the drawings- 'lligure 1 is a plan viewv of a hand seamer embodyingthe improvements; l

Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical sectionof the same;

Fig; 3 an enlarged view-partly in side elevation and partly in Averticalsection, and

Fig. 4 is a detail showing one of the -seam-v ing rolls shifted intoposition for contact with the metal parts. l f

The hand-seamer 'includes a frame structure which-maybe clamped to atable or some other suitable support. Mounted forrotation in the frameis a shaft carrying a chuck..V The shaft is rotated manually. Alsomounted in the frame is a can support on which `the can is placed andthen raised into contact with the chuckr so that the can and end may berotated for the seaming operation. There are iirstv and second seamingrolls mounted, respectively, at the' outer,

end of arms which are pivoted for independent' swinging movement on asupporting frame. Y As` sociated with both arms vis a cam memberprovided with adjustable abutments which contact,`

respectively, with the arms. Springs hold the arms in contact with theseabutment members. The outer face of this cam actuated member iscam-shaped. A lever pivoted to the frame car` ries a roller which runson the cam face of this cam actuated member, and when this hand leverisrmoved in one direction, itwill camf actuate and move one of theseaming rolls vinto engage, ment with the metal partsfWhen the handlever is moved in the opposite direction it will cam actuate and movethe other seaming roll into contact wththe metal parts, and at the sametime release .the first seaming rollso thatit ismoved out of engagementwith said metal parts.

Referring more in detail to the drawings,.the hand seamer, asillustrated, includes a supporting frame having upright members 1,I 14spaced from each other. These upright members are preferably formedintegral with a base member 2. Attached t'o this base member 2 areclamps133, each of which is provided with a clamping' screw 4. Theseclamps serve to irmly clamp the base member to a tablev or othersupport.

Joining the upper ends of the spaced frame members 1, l is a cap plateor bar 5. Mounted for rotation in a suitable bearing sleeve in said capplate 5 is a shaft 6. This shaft 6 carries a bevel gear 7 which mesheswith a bevel gear 8 mounted on a cross shaft 9 which is also journaledin the cap plate or bar 5. Attached to the outer end of the cross shaftis a crank 10. When this crank is rotated, it will impart rotations tothe shaft 6. The gear 8 is of less diameter than the gear 7. Fixed tothe shaft 6 is a chuck 11. Located directly beneath the chuck 11 is acan support l2. This can support 12 is provided with a depending hub 13.The hub 13 is mounted for free rotation in a supporting member 14. Saidvsupporting member 14 is recessed to receive the hub. At the lower end ofthe recess there is a flexible plate 15. A threaded hardened steel stud16 is carried by the hub 13 and rests on this plate 15. The supportingmember ylll is mounted for vertical movement in a sleeve 17 carried by abracket base 18 which in turn is clamped to the supporting basemember 2by bolts 19, 19.

A lifting lever 20 is pivoted at 2l to the supporting member 14. Thislever lies in a slot in the lower part of the supporting member 14 andextends out through an opening 22 in the wall of the sleeve 17. Thelever 20 is formed with a cam face 23 which terminates in a shoulder 24.The can to be seamed is placed on the supporting table 12, and then thelever 20 is lowered or moved downward, and this Will operate through thecam face 23 toraise the support 14, and the can support 12 therewith.This will lift the can on which an ond has been loosely placed intoContact with the chuck and clamp the same iirmly against the chuck. Theplate `15 will yield to accommodate any variations inthe heights of thecans, and the shoulder 24 is so positioned that when the can end is ingripping Contact with the chuck, then the shoulder moves on to the baseplate and will hold the can support in its raised position. The operatorafter having lowered the lever, can release the same, and by turning thecrank 10, the can and can end will be rotated. I

In order to roll the flange of the can end and the iiange of the canbody into a double Seam, a 'first operation seaming roll 25 is provided.This roll is pivoted at 26 to an arm 27 carried by a sleeve 28. Theleft-hand frame member l is preferably in the form of a flat bar. Theupper end, however, is shaped so as to t within a bearing sleeve 29which rests on a shoulder 30 formed in said member. The sleeve 28 ismounted on this bearing sleeve 29. Said bracket sleeve 29 has aprojecting flange on which the sleeve 28 of the arm 27 rests.

The second operation seaming roll 31 is carried by an arm 32 which isformed integral with a sleeve 33. This sleeve 33 is also mounted on thebearing sleeve 29 and rests on the sleeve 28. The two arms 27 and 32 arethus mounted for independent swinging movement on the frame.

These arms are moved for bringing the seaming rolls into contact withthe metal parts by a cam actuated member 34. This cam actuated member 34is carried by a sleeve 35 which is also jcurnaled on the bearing sleeve29. The cap bar is attached to the frame member directly above thebearing sleeve 29 and this sleeve 35 so as to prevent endwise mcvementofthe parts mounted c on this bracket sleeve 29. The cam actuated member34 has a depending lug 36 carrying an abutment screw 37 which isthreaded through said lug and bears against the outer face of the arm 27carrying the seaming roll 25. A spring 38 is attached to the .member 34at one end and to the arm 27 at the other, and this spring will hold thearm in contact with this abutment screw 37. The cam actuated member 34is also provided with a depending lug 39 carrying an abutment screw 40which contacts with the arm 32 carrying the seaming roll 31. A spring 41is attached at one end to this cam actuated member 34, and at its otherend to the arm 32 and normally holds said arm in contact with theabutment screw.

The outer face of the cam actuated member 34 is shaped so as to providean operating cam 42. On the outer end of this cap bar 5 is mounted astud 43. Said stud is secured to the bar by means of a nut 44 which isthreaded on to the shank of the stud. Mounted for free oscillation onthis stud 43 is a hand lever 45. Said hand lever 45 carries a roller 46which is adapted to cooperate with the operating cam 42 for actuatingthe member 34. Y.

When the hand lever 45 is turned in a clockwise direction, the roller 46will contact with the cam face 42 so as to forcibly turn the member 34in a counter-clockwise direction. This will cause the abutment screw toforce the `arrn 27 toward the can parts and bring the seaming roll intoengagement with the flange of the can end, so that as the can is rotatedby the operator through the crank 10, the metal parts will be rolledinto a seam. This seaming roll is shaped so as to produce the firstoperation on the parts toward the forming of a double seam. After thisseaming roll has been held forcibly in contact with the metal parts forseveral rotations of the can, then the hand lever 45 is turned in acounter-clockwise direction, that is, the reverse direction. The roller4S will turn the member 34 in a clockwise direction and then willrelease the arm 27 so that the roller 25 will move outward away from theseam. The roller running on the cam face will forcibly shift this member34 so as to bring the seaming roll 31 into contact withthe metal parts.Said roll is held in contact with the parts for one or more revolutionsof the can, and this completes the formation of the double seam. Afterthe seam iscompleted, the hand lever is brought back to a neutralposition, which is the position shown in Fig. 1, and in this position,the cam actuated member 34 will be so set that both seaming rolls willbe released from contact with the metal and the can may be removed and anew can placed for another seaming operation.

It will be noted from the drawings that the roller runs on a cam faceformed by curving the same about a center which is radially a shorterdistance from the cam face than the center about which the hand leveroscillates. When this roller is moved in either direction from theposition shown in Fig. 1, it will cause the member 34 to swing on itspivot, and therefore, the rolls are forced into contactrwith the metalby a camming action, which enables great pressure to be brought to bearon the metal with little pressure applied by the operator to the lever45 which manipulates the seaming rolls. When it is desired to make atighter or a looser seam, then the abutment screws are adjusted and thiswill vary the ultimate pressure that may be exerted against the seam.This adjustment is also used to take care of' different diameter cans.The cam face on the cam actuated member is so shaped that when theroller operating this member reaches a fixed position corresponding tothe innermost position of the :seaming ,.roll, any further shifting ofthe hand lever will not affect the seaming roll, as the cam face fromthat point on and in that extreme Aposition is concentric with the studon which the hand lever is pivoted. This is clear from the position ofthe roller on the cam face, as shown inFig. 4, where the operating rollis exerting its Vmaximum pressure on the seaming roll through the camactuated member.

It is obvious that minor changes in the details of construction andthearrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit ofthe invention `as set forth in the appended claims.

. Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is l 1 1. AV hand seamer includingincombination, a frame, a chuck mounted in said frame ,for rotationaboutira vertical axisa crank connected to said chuck for manuallyrotating the same, 1a rotatable can support associated with said chuck,a first operation seaming roll, an arm mounted for oscillation carryingsaid roll, a second operar tion seaming roll, an arm mounted foroscillation carrying said last-named roll, an operating member having acam face, abutment members carriedby said operating member and adaptedto engage, respectively, `said arms, springs for holding the` armsincontact with the abutment members, a handeoperated lever and a rollercarried thereby, said roller being adapted to engage the cam face VofsaidV cam-actuated member for forcibly operating the same for causingthe seeming rolls to `contact with the metal parts.

2. A hand seamerincluding in combination, a frame, a chuck mounted in`said frame for rotation about 'a vertical axisa crank connected to saidchuck for manually rotating the same, a rotatable can support associatedwith said chuck,` alilrst operation seaming roll, an arm mounted foroscillation carrying said roll, a second operation seaming roll; anarmniounted for oscillationicarrying said last-named roll, an operatingmember pivoted to said frame, adjustable abutment members `carried bysaid operating member and .adapted .to engage, respectively, said arms,springs for holding the arms in contact with the abutment members, saidoperating member having a curved cam face at the outer side thereof,iahand-operated lever pivoted to said frame, a roller carried by saidlever and engaging said cam face whereby when said lever is oscillatedin one direction, one of said seeming rolls will be forcibly caused toengage the can parts, and when oscillated in the other direction theother seaming roll will be caused to forcibly engage the can parts.

3. A hand seamer including in combination a frame comprising a basemember,` standards carried thereby and a cap bar secured to the upperends of said standards and projecting beyond one standard, a rotatablechuck journaled in said cap bar, a hand lever for turning said chuck, acan support adapted to cooperate with said chuck, means for raising andlowering said can support, a bearing sleeve mounted on one of saidstandards, arms mounted for independent oscillation on said bearingsleeve, a seaming roll carried by each arm, a cam member mounted on saidbearing sleeve and carrying adjustable abutment members adapted toengage, respectively said arms carrying the seaming rolls, springs forholding the arms in contact with the abutment members, a pivot studcarried by said cap bar, a hand-operated lever pivoted on said stud, aroller carried by said lever and engaging said cam member, said cammember having a cam face so shaped that when the lever is oscllated inone direction one of said seaming rolls will be forcibly moved intocontact with the metal parts and when oscillated in the oppositedirection the other seaming roll will be moved into engagement with the"metal parts.

4. A hand seamer including in combination a frame comprising a basemember, standards carried thereby and a cap bar secured to the upperends of said standards and projecting beyond one standard, a rotatablechuck journaled in said cap bar, a hand lever for turning said chuck, acan support adapted to cooperate with said chuck, means for raising andlowering said can support, a bearing sleeve mounted on one of saidstandards, arms mounted for independent oscillation on said bearingsleeve, a seaming roll carried by each arm, a cam member mounted on saidbearing sleeve and carrying adjustable abutment members adapted toengage, respectively, said arms carrying the seaming rolls, springs forholding the arms in contact with the abutment members, a pivot studcarried by said cap bar, a hand-operated lever pivoted on said stud, aroller carried by said lever and engaging said cam member, said cammember having a cam face so shaped that said roller when the lever ismoved in one direction will force one of said seaming rolls to apredetermined set position, and When said roller is moved in theopposite direction, it will force the other seaming roll to apredetermined set position.

MATTHEW M. SEDWICK.

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